Published: Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

Aquarius, the world's only permanent undersea laboratory and a key component of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's marine science program, could lose its funding next year, school officials say.

Facts

AQUARIUS EXPLAINED

What it is: Ocean science and diving facility. Includes an undersea lab, an ocean-observing platform and an onshore field station.Purpose: Studying coral reefs and the ocean; testing undersea technology; training students, astronauts and Navy divers.Location: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, near Key LargoOwner: National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationManager: University of North Carolina WilmingtonBuilt: 1986

A federal budget that's holding up in the U.S. House of Representatives doesn't include money for Aquarius, the federal undersea research program operated by UNCW. School officials say the center will be pulled from its research space in the Florida Keys by 2013 unless funding is found elsewhere.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates the UNCW-based National Undersea Research Center, consolidated programs in its ocean exploration program, which eliminates the undersea research program that included Aquarius, said Bob Wicklund, the school's director of federal programs.

If the cut passes, funding would end at the start of the next federal fiscal year, which begins in October, said Dan Baden director of the Center for Marine Science at UNCW.

If that happened, UNCW would complete two more missions at Aquarius, then dismantle the capsule by December 2012, Baden said. The program's 11 full-time staff members at UNCW would also lose their jobs, said Tom Potts, director of Aquarius.

Baden said that while the funding cut isn't final, it doesn't look good.

"More will be known after the federal budget is finalized and we see whether any funding for (the undersea research program) is included," he said. "From what we know at this point, that does not look likely."

When Aquarius' funding has been threatened in years past, North Carolina's members of Congress have put earmarks in the budget to save it. But Congress banned those earmarks, making a Congressional intervention "virtually impossible," Wicklund said.

NOAA offered to keep Aquarius open if the university could find another funding source. Wicklund said he had "no idea" how the school could find that money.

But Potts said a nonprofit foundation that would fund the program through 2013 is in the works. The foundation would be independent of UNCW, but would have NOAA's blessing, Potts said.

Money for Aquarius has been dwindling for years. Last year, the entire undersea research program only got about $4 million in funding. This year's budget crisis stemmed from NOAA's redirection of dollars into its satellite program, he said.

Losing the program "doesn't make any sense," Wicklund said.

"Aquarius has probably been one of the biggest coral reef research tools for the U.S. government for years," he said. "It's been recording one of the great environmental disasters of our time. For it to be shut down, I just don't understand."

<p>Aquarius, the world's only permanent undersea laboratory and a key component of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's marine science program, could lose its funding next year, school officials say. </p><p>A federal budget that's holding up in the U.S. House of Representatives doesn't include money for Aquarius, the federal undersea research program operated by <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic71"><b>UNCW</b></a>. School officials say the center will be pulled from its research space in the Florida Keys by 2013 unless funding is found elsewhere.</p><p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates the UNCW-based National Undersea Research Center, consolidated programs in its ocean exploration program, which eliminates the undersea research program that included Aquarius, said Bob Wicklund, the school's director of federal programs.</p><p>If the cut passes, funding would end at the start of the next federal fiscal year, which begins in October, said Dan Baden director of the Center for Marine Science at UNCW. </p><p>If that happened, UNCW would complete two more missions at Aquarius, then dismantle the capsule by December 2012, Baden said. The program's 11 full-time staff members at UNCW would also lose their jobs, said Tom Potts, director of Aquarius.</p><p>Baden said that while the funding cut isn't final, it doesn't look good.</p><p>"More will be known after the federal budget is finalized and we see whether any funding for (the undersea research program) is included," he said. "From what we know at this point, that does not look likely."</p><p>When Aquarius' funding has been threatened in years past, North Carolina's members of Congress have put earmarks in the budget to save it. But Congress banned those earmarks, making a Congressional intervention "virtually impossible," Wicklund said. </p><p>NOAA offered to keep Aquarius open if the university could find another funding source. Wicklund said he had "no idea" how the school could find that money.</p><p>But Potts said a nonprofit foundation that would fund the program through 2013 is in the works. The foundation would be independent of UNCW, but would have NOAA's blessing, Potts said.</p><p>Money for Aquarius has been dwindling for years. Last year, the entire undersea research program only got about $4 million in funding. This year's budget crisis stemmed from NOAA's redirection of dollars into its satellite program, he said. </p><p>Losing the program "doesn't make any sense," Wicklund said.</p><p>"Aquarius has probably been one of the biggest coral reef research tools for the U.S. government for years," he said. "It's been recording one of the great environmental disasters of our time. For it to be shut down, I just don't understand."</p><p>Pressley Baird: 343-2328</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PressleyBaird</p>